Re: [9fans] Plan 9

Re: [9fans] Plan 9

[Russ Cox]

> Sadly, it doesn't run on my laptop.  Despite much energy from Russ Cox
> (for which I am grateful) it doesn't install.  Some of the reasons for
> the problem include a dependency on Microdreck in the install system
> and forgetting about extended partitions when designing the install
> process.

Now, now, be fair.  The real problem is that we don't have a USB
driver at boot, we require a floppy disk to install, and your laptop's
floppy drive is USB.  There is no dependency on Microsoft operating
systems whatever (though our boot floppy happens to use their
file system format), and what we ``forgot'' was the ability to boot
out of extended partitions that are pretending to be a floppy disk,
which no one else does either.  There are some bugs in fdisk's
extended partition table parsing too, but we didn't get far.

Our lack of USB support is the real problem here.  I wish...

Russ

Re: [9fans] Plan 9

[Boyd Roberts]

> Now, now, be fair.  The real problem is that we don't have a USB
> driver at boot, we require a floppy disk to install, and your laptop's
> floppy drive is USB.

But the BIOS should understand the USB floppy and from there you can
boot/install from c: unless this m/c is weirder than a VAIO.

The process is tedios, but I did document it:

    http://home.fr.inter.net/boyd/code/plan9/usbflop.html

All credit goes to Russ.

Re: [9fans] Plan 9

[Thomas Bushnell, BSG]

rsc@plan9.bell-labs.com (Russ Cox) writes:

> Now, now, be fair.  The real problem is that we don't have a USB
> driver at boot, we require a floppy disk to install, and your laptop's
> floppy drive is USB.  There is no dependency on Microsoft operating
> systems whatever (though our boot floppy happens to use their
> file system format), and what we ``forgot'' was the ability to boot
> out of extended partitions that are pretending to be a floppy disk,
> which no one else does either.  There are some bugs in fdisk's
> extended partition table parsing too, but we didn't get far.

I'm not trying to be unfair; you did bend over backwards to try and
get it working, and sadly it just doesn't.  I wasn't trying to poke
fun or anything like that.

By dependency on Microdreck, I meant the dependency on the filesystem
that you mention.

Re: [9fans] Plan 9

[Jonadab the Unsightly One]

rsc@plan9.bell-labs.com (Russ Cox) writes:

> Our lack of USB support is the real problem here.  I wish...

USB?  Just say no.  We have a handful of iMacs at work, so I have
worked with USB a little, and I can tell you, it's a *lot* more
trouble than it's worth -- to the user, to the administrator, and
(judging from the level of support it has in various operating
systems) to the implementor as well.

When USB is replaced by the next fad, people will still be using PS/2
keyboards and serial-port modems.  (Parallel port printers we'll
probably replace sooner or later with network printers, however, as
more households get second and third computers, like happened with
cars and phones and televisions.)

Re: [9fans] Plan 9

[Boyd Roberts]

> USB?  Just say no.

The new fad seems to be USB mice.  I have a bad feeling about this.

It's a sad state of affairs when you have to get a RS-232 protocol
analyser out to work out what your mouse is doing.

France Telecom even have an ADSL offering that uses ...

   USB

Couldn't get UTP/RJ-45s this year?

Re: [9fans] Plan 9

[Jonadab the Unsightly One]

boyd@fr.inter.net (Boyd Roberts) writes:

> The new fad seems to be USB mice.  I have a bad feeling about this.

USB mice are almost tollerable.  USB keyboards are the real joke.

Re[2]: [9fans] Plan 9

[Matt]

JtUO> rsc@plan9.bell-labs.com (Russ Cox) writes:

>> Our lack of USB support is the real problem here.  I wish...

JtUO> When USB is replaced by the next fad, people will still be using PS/2
JtUO> keyboards and serial-port modems.  (Parallel port printers we'll
JtUO> probably replace sooner or later with network printers,

http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/archive/22034.html
Intel to kill floppy drives, serial ports next year
By Tony Smith
Posted: 04/10/2001 at 10:53 GMT


Intel is finally inciting the death of the floppy drive and is calling on PC manufacturers big and small to stop supplying the once-capacious 1.44MB removable drive in the latter half of 2002.

So say confidential Intel documents seen by The Register. The chip giant wants OEMs to phase out the floppy in the second half of 2002. It hopes they will pull the plug - as it were - on PS/2 and serial ports at the same time.

Re: Re[2]: [9fans] Plan 9

[Jonadab the Unsightly One]

matt@proweb.co.uk (Matt) writes:

> So say confidential Intel documents seen by The Register. The chip
> giant wants OEMs to phase out the floppy in the second half of
> 2002. It hopes they will pull the plug - as it were - on PS/2 and
> serial ports at the same time.

Intel can hope whatever they want.  You can buy "legacy-free" systems
now, but nobody does.  They're a hundred bucks cheaper, and nobody's
buying them.